Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix

At the age of 11, he moved to Bamberg, where he studied at the school and episcopal seminary. He earned his Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Bamberg at 19 and completed his Medical degree at the University of Würzburg at 26, where he was influenced by Schelling to study nature. With a scholarship from the Bavarian government, Spix went to France to specialize in zoology at the National Museum of Natural History, studying under Georges Cuvier, Lamarck, and Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire.

During his stay in Paris, Spix went on several excursions across Europe. The first was to Normandy, on the northern coast of France, which resulted in the publication of his first scientific article: "Memoire pour servir à l’histoire de l’astérie rouge, Asterias rubens" (1809). In 1811, he published a work of over 700 pages: "History and Evaluation of All Zoological Systems According to Their Evolutionary Sequence from Aristotle to the Present Day", which earned him worldwide scientific recognition.

On returning to Munich, he became the zoology curator of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. In 1815, he published Cephalogenesis, where he describes the morphology of the skulls of various animals and interprets them from the point of view of natural philosophy. He detailed not only the skulls of vertebrates, but also the head capsules of arthropods (insects, spiders, crabs) and octopuses. It was the first publication in natural sciences to use the lithographic technique; a true masterpiece.

At age 36, the already experienced zoologist Spix received the unique opportunity to embark on a journey to Brazil, accompanied by the young 23-year-old botanist Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius. Together, they led one of the most important and successful scientific expeditions of the 19th century. The opportunity to cross the Atlantic came about due to the marriage of Maria Leopoldinha (daughter of the Austrian Emperor) and Dom Pedro (heir to the Portuguese throne), who lived in Brazil at the time.

The account titled “Viagem pelo Brasil” (Journey through Brazil), was published in three volumes (1823, 1828, 1831). More than just a travel narrative, this work provides details about the local nature and portrays the people living in Brazil at that time, with their complex social, economic, cultural, and political activities. It stands as one of the greatest contributions to the knowledge of early 19th-century Brazil. Spix did not participate in the writing of all the volumes, as he passed away prematurely in 1826.

The first volume in which Spix scientifically described the animals collected in Brazil was printed in 1823, just two years after his return from Brazil. In this particularly large-format work (folio), Spix described 34 species of monkeys and 15 bats. The work is illustrated with 38 plates, almost all in color. Two of these plates show the skulls of fifteen monkeys and one human. Here, Spix connects with his earlier research on skulls, Cephalogenesis, from 1815.

The birds were covered in two volumes, printed in 1824 and 1825. In these works, Spix described 220 species and subspecies of birds, including some of the most interesting and famous from Brazil. However, some of these species had already been described by other researchers based on collections made by Prince Wied-Neuwied, so only about half of the names given by Spix are still valid.

Spix also dedicated himself to the study of reptiles and amphibians, resulting in a total of three volumes. In 1824, the volume on turtles and frogs was published, along with the volume on snakes. The following year, in 1825, the third volume on crocodilians and lizards was released. In the first book, Spix and his assistant Johann Georg Wagler described 19 species of turtles and 55 species of amphibians, including toads, tree frogs, and frogs.

In the book on snakes, Wagler was the sole author, though he relied heavily on Spix's notes. Spix, in turn, served as the editor. The book included 43 species, 36 of which were entirely new to science! Wagler distinguished himself as an important herpetologist and is recognized for establishing several genera that are still accepted by the scientific community today.

The final work of this series was published the following year (1825). Spix described four caiman species, including the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger), the largest crocodilian in the Americas, and 36 new species of lizards.

Spix also collected mollusks in Brazil. After returning to Europe, he completed the illustrations and prepared descriptions for a monograph on the specimens he had collected. Following Spix's premature death in 1826, Johann Andreas Wagner (1797-1861), an associate researcher and later curator in Munich, was called upon to complete the text. The work was published in 1827, with Franz von Paula Schrank and Carl von Martius as editors. In total, 64 snails and 20 bivalves were illustrated.

Spix collected around 100 fish species in Brazil. He also supervised the illustrations and made scientific notes for most of them. After his death, the young Swiss zoologist Louis Agassiz continued the work under Martius' guidance, earning his doctorate under his mentorship. In addition to 84 colored lithographs depicting the fish, the publication also features 6 anatomical illustrations and 7 lithographs showcasing various Indigenous fishing techniques.

After Spix's death, the German entomologist Josef Anton Maximilian Perty (1804-1884) described a total of 622 insect species in four installments (partial volumes), using Spix's collections, between 1830 and 1834. Certainly, many thousands of Brazilian insects have been scientifically described since then, and many others were already known beforehand. Even so, the contribution of Spix and Perty to entomology was highly significant.

Of the more than 3,000 animal species catalogued for the first time based on Spix's collections, many were named in his honor. The most well-known example is the Spix's macaw, Cyanopsitta spixii, a species endemic to the Caatinga and currently critically endangered. Other examples include the Caatinga guinea pig (Galea spixii), the black spine-neck turtle (Acanthochelys spixii), the Amazon coral snake (Micrurus spixii), and the wall spider (Selenops spixii). There is also a genus of land snails named Spixia.